Caol Ila 31 y.o. Cask #2930 (Silver Seal)

54.2% abv

Score:  90/100

Check out that bottle!  One of the coolest, most retro looking pieces of whisky-ware I’ve yet seen.  Not that we decide our whisky opinions on the aesthetics, but credit where credit is due, right?  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that we’re sipping a 31 year old cask strength from one of Islay’s most consistently enjoyable distilleries.  Especially as regards older malts.

Caol Ila ages beautifully.  I think we’ve discussed this in other places.  In many ways it’s like the poor man’s Port Ellen.  The spirit is peated to about the same specs, would have been casked into wood procured under the same wood policy and, in cases such as this, matured to an age we see most Port Ellen releases at.  Let’s not forget that Diageo owned Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Port Ellen at the same time.  But at the heart of it all, the most important factor is that the oily spirit marries well with wood for extended periods of time.  In fact…I don’t believe I’ve ever met an over-oaked Caol Ila.

And as for this Silver Seal…gorgeous.  Rich and classic.  Elegant, to be sure, but with enough bombast to please the discerning.  The phenols in this malt fade to wispy tendrils of austere beauty, but that mature smoke brings a complexity I miss in modern malts.

Let’s face it…the Italian independent bottlers know their whisky.  Between these guys, Samaroli and Wilson & Morgan there are some spectacular casks on the market.

Nose:  Slightly doughy with a pepper note.  Some light peat and smoke.  Hints of candy and bubblegum.  Nice citrus backbone.  A hint of grassy, herbal tea notes.  A hint of savoury herb, maybe oregano.  Salt and pepper.

Palate:  Grassy arrival.  Very oily.  More smoke now.  Oak is assertive, but pleasant.  Neat fruity and sweet development.  Linseed oil.  Citrus peel.  Earthy, peaty notes sprinkled all over this one.  Nice tart closeout here.

Thoughts:  Very nice whisky.  Rich throughout.  Balanced and delicious.  This is the first Silver Seal malt I’ve tried.  Hope to get my hands on more.

 – Images & Words:  Curt

Caol Ila Connoisseurs Choice 2003 (Gordon & MacPhail)

46% abv

Score:  90/100

It’s become a bit of a thing.  We go to Islay.  We buy a bottle (or two) for drinking around the hotel (or B&B) and in between times.  And consequently that bottle becomes an object of some sentimentality.  It helps, of course, when the whisky turns out to be brilliant.

This G&M 2003 was just such a case.  A dozen years old and a firecracker of a malt.  Five of us on Islay last September found this bottle intriguing enough to cough up a few quid for when we saw it at both the Co-op and the Whisky Shop.  We pooled our schillings, popped the cork and poured the first round and not a face in the room could help but light up in appreciation.  Brilliant dram, this.  Clean and pure and, while not exactly a classic Caol Ila, it is certainly a classic malt.  Gordon & MacPhail have some of the best barrels in the industry, and it’s a treat to see them starting to hit the shelves at 46% instead of the old 40% or 43%.  Appreciate it much.

One of our crew brought back a bottle with him, but I was butting up against my limits of what I could bring back (who am I kidding?  I demolished those limits).  Not to mention, my suitcases were bursting at the seams.  Fortunately a few bottles of this landed in Calgary not too much later and I was able to scoop one.  I think maybe we’ll save that one for a session of trip reminiscences with the boys at some point a little further down the line.

Nose:  Smoke, peat, ash and iodine.  All of which we’d likely expect.  None too delicate here.  Oil.  Earth.  Citrus.  Minerally notes.  High cacao dark chocolate.  Green rock candy.  More chocolate emerges with time in the glass, milk and white now.  Vanilla.  Some sort of fruity reduction.  A hint of bubblegum.

Palate:  Oh wow.  What an arrival.  Smoky and fruity.  The color belies how sweetly, juicy this is.  Usually this much mouthwatering juiciness comes in darker heavily sherried malts.  Some citrus again.  Smoked shellfish.  Lovely linger on all the right notes.  Smoke just builds.  Again…that touch of bubblegum.

Thoughts:  Gorgeous variant on a Caol Ila.  I think I’d guess Laphroaig blind.

 – Images & Words:  Curt

Caol Ila 1984 21 y.o. (Cooper’s Choice)

46% abv

Score:  85.5/100

A few weeks back, at a whisky club meeting in the community hall we frequently douse in fine and rare Scotch whisky, a good mate of mine, Joey, brought me a little flask.  I don’t recall his exact words (even though this was at the beginning of the night, before the madness ensued), but he said it was a Caol Ila.

I took it home, poured it into a glass sample bottle and left it on the shelf until it caught my eye again about a week and a half ago.  I paired it up with a couple other Caol Ila samples (’cause that’s the way I try to taste these things) and sat down with pen in hand.

Now…to be fair to this one, I did try it against a couple of 30+ year old expressions.  It came across more feisty and more lively, but maybe a little more shallow in terms of complexity.  To be expected and, if you know me, not at all outside my preference.  I like peated malts with personality.  That’s not to suggest this was a young’un.  Even blind (knowing only that it was Caol Ila) I could tell there was some age on it.  21 years, I found out later, and from a 2006 vintage.

All in all, this was textbook Islay, if not immediately recognizable as Caol Ila.  A lot of brilliant flashes of flavor and aroma with just the slightest off note.  Sulphur?  Maybe.  Tough to tell, but something threw this one off just a tick.  Still a rock solid malt.

Nose:  Smoke and rubber.  Lively fruits, particularly lemon (and maybe lime).  Chewy candies, not gummies.  Ashy.  Orange zest.  Butter tarts.  Smoked, oily fish.  Heavy, almost burnt caramel.  Thick and viscous.

Palate:  Liorice.  Grilled lemon.  A fair heft of oak and smoke.  Pastry.  Oily again, and actually a little drying. Long and smoky finish with some grass at the back.

Thoughts:  Vibrant.  Lively.  Hints at some sulphur, but I’m on the fence as to whether or not I’m imagining it.

* Thanks, Joey.  Fun one to try.  Love tasting blind like this.

 – Images & Words:  Curt

Caol Ila 34 y.o. (Cadenhead Small Batch)

60.1% abv

Score:  93.5/100

Yep.  Three and a half decades of sleep.  Gives my wife a run for her money in terms of affinity for dozing.  This one was tasted as part of an utterly mindboggling range of independent Caol Ila this past weekend.  Not only was it the oldest of the run, it’s actually the oldest of the 46 Caol Ila I’ve tasted to date.  Just shy of half of those have been older than 20, to be fair, so I do have some idea as to what we’d be looking for in older expressions of Caol Ila.  We certainly found it here.  And then some.

This is fantastic stuff.  Peat that is so far off in the distance it has faded into a seamless sfumato-esque haze that seems like nothing more than a suggestion.  Soft fruit notes and essence of mature old malt.  Hard to dissect, really. the integration is that complete.  And 60.1% at 34 years?  Wow.  Spectacular strength and delivery of flavour.

Sometimes you don’t need a lot of words to get the point across.  I think we’ll leave it at that.

Nose:  Spectacular nose.  Maybe the best Caol Ila I’ve ever nosed.  Old whisky to be sure.  Latex and soft, soft oak notes.  Melon.  Bordering on tropical.  Just hints of lemon pie.  Some orange.  Gorgeous tartness.  Vague industrial oiliness.  Slightly fishy.  Just the barest whisper of smoke.

Palate:  Awesome.  Maybe the oak is a little too strong, but otherwise everything is in check and firing on all cylinders.  Wow.  Great fruit tart enormity.  Thick and oily.  Grapefruit (flesh, pith and zest).  Licorice.  Hint of eucalyptus.  Gorgeous all the way through.  Nice finish on orange fruits and citrus.

Thoughts:  Great integration, great complexity.  This makes me think of old Samaroli casks.  Well done, Cadenhead.

– Images & Words:  Curt

Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve

59.6% abv

Score:  84/100

Finally getting ’round to this one.  Odd considering this was one of those ‘jump the shark’ malts for me.  I remember a little too well a dialogue with a good mate of mine (a vested retailer) who was somewhat irked with my indignation at the nearly $200 price tag on this NAS unpeated Caol Ila that hit the shelves in late 2013.

That still sits wrong with me, especially in light of subsequent age-stated variants in the line (as high as 17, I think, locally at least) that have come in cheaper.  Such is.  Let’s not regurgitate the old cud.

Unpeated Caol Ila.  Odd stuff.  The 10 y.o. was a monster.  Can’t say it was spectacular, but it was unquestionably singular, and there was enough behind it to make me an admirer.  This one?  Well…not as much, I’m afraid.  That 10 was about six points higher in terms of abv and still had a ghost of peat glimpsed at the periphery.  This one (seemingly quite young, I might add) is much more naked.  Wood and clean spirit.  Not a lot more.  Spirity almost, if I’m being honest.  Still a decent enough drink, but not even close to a bargain at these prices.

When a few of us visited the distillery in very late 2012, one of the distillery folks mentioned that Caol Ila had not done another run of unpeated spirit since (I believe) 1999.  Each each successive release in their “Unpeated Style” line was simply the next successive year of a slowly maturing distillate.  I don’t think that is the case anymore (if it ever was), but I’ll try to do some digging and follow up in the comments below.

If you can find it, stick with the 10 year old Unpeated from about eight years back (give or take).

Nose:  Citrus (mostly lime).  Minerally.  White chocolate.  Had a preconceived notion this would nose a little older.  Vanilla cake.  Touch of orange and melon.  Herbal tea notes.  Somewhat reminiscent of Canadian whisky in an odd way.  Overall…quite nice and approachable.  Not even remotely Caol Ila-ish.

Palate:  Whoa.  Big oily arrival.  Grassy.  Some Sauvignon Blanc notes.  Oak and vanilla.  Lemon.  Some creaminess here.  Still not Caol Ila.  Would never guess blindly.  Sharp woody notes.  Dries up.

Thoughts:  Better nose than palate.  Ultiamtely lacking personality.  Not bad, but almost too naked and lacking in character.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Caol Ila 18 y.o. Cask #11143 (A.D. Rattray)

55.7% abv

Score:  90.5/100

Good whiskies are found everywhere.  We know this because we’re constantly hunting them down and sharing the word via forums such as this.  Truly spectacular whiskies, however, are unquestionably much more scarce.  And even more elusive are truly spectacular people.  Here’s a little story of how these two things came together for me in a serendipitous little meeting.

A while back I saw a message on Twitter that showed a dram of Caol Ila.  Not just any Caol Ila, but one so deep and dark I was simply blown away by the depth of brown and red in the glass.  The colour was stunning – not that we form our opinions based on colour, mind you – and obviously spoke of a massive sherry influence on the spirit.  To date there have only been a couple of uber-sherried Caol Ila expressions that have crossed my lips.  I recall one being incredibly industrial and almost unapproachable, while another was quite spectacular.  Even that oddball industrial mash-up was singular enough to make me come back to it time and again out of sheer ‘can’t-wrap-my-head-around-it-ness’.

I started asking questions and was informed that this Caol Ila was an 18 year old independent bottling from A.D. Rattray, bottled exclusively for Wine & Beyond, and was being used by my dear friend Val Bradshaw for a whisky tasting event.  She and I discussed a bit and I walked away with an assurance that she would try to let me taste this one at some point.  Whew!  Mission accomplished.  Little did I know, though…

A long while later Val came by for a wonderful evening of friends, drams and discussion.  She didn’t bring me a sample of that Caol Ila that night, however.  She brought me an entire bottle.  A beautiful gesture from a woman with a heart of gold and an infinite understanding of both the spirit itself and the spirit inside that drives my passions.  These are the things that make a whisky unforgettable and help us cement memories and friendships that last a lifetime.  Not the gift itself, of course, but the thought behind it and the place it comes from.  Amazing.

And the malt itself?  As wonderful and unique as I’d hoped.  Deeply rich sherry and earthy peat in a perfectly matched tug-of-war.  No winner.  Just a contest for the ages.  And the best part?  This one takes me right back to Islay; sipping whisky in the warehouse, right from the barrel.  Nothing like it.

I should note:  The bottle is marked as a partial cask.  Wine & Beyond took a chunk of the outturn, but where the rest wound up?  Who knows.

Nose:  Bucketloads of sweet jammy fruits and bold clouds of smoke.  Caol Ila?  Really?  I’d guess Bowmore if tasted blind.  Flint, ash and iodine.  Some rubber and tarry notes.  Menthol drops and cherry cough syrup.  Cask char.  Dark syrupy notes and strong vanilla.  Spicy tea, cold coffee and dark chocolate.  A savoury, meaty note too.  All of these descriptors are accurate (in my humble opinion anyway), but they don’t work to describe the cohesive whole.  Man, what a nose.

Palate:  Huge arrival.  Bigger than huge, actually.  Like plums and berries that have been rubbed in a tangy Asian sauce and roasted over a smoky-as-hell bonfire.  More oceanic here.  Grapeskins and good chocolate.  Ginger and cinnamon.  Dark, moist tobacco.  Again…very jammy.  Earthy, peaty and farmy.  Great juicy dram.

Thoughts:  Unforgettable, not simply due to the backstory, but because of its intrinsic nature.  Deep and contemplative.

*Sincere thanks to Val Bradshaw for the hook up on this gem.  Love ya, babe.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

 – Photo:  Curt

Caol Ila 25 y.o. (2011)

43% abv

Score:  88.5/100

I last tasted this one at home amid a small range, side by side with the Caol Ila 30 year old special release and a couple others.  While this 25 year old distillery bottling is served up at a rather anemic 43% abv, the 30 year old weighs in a much more strapping 55.1% abv.  I should also make known that there was this nagging little voice in the back of my skull that kept whispering about how spectacular the old 25 year old cask strength edition was.  Ill-advised preconceptions had me coming into this one less than enthused for the low abv, I hate to admit it, but still eager to try.

Happy to report that while it was indeed a little thin, it was certainly not lacking for character or quality.  In fact I found it not dissimilar to Port Ellen of comparable vintage.  Not much of a surprise there, really, as these two malts have almost always matured to a similar profile by this age bracket.  Delicate whisky that deserves complete attention, arrives with little bombast, but lingers beyond the last sips.  That’s an admirable quality for a low test, chill-filtered (and probably coloured) whisky.

My favorite Caol Ila by no means, but one I would love to have made available locally on a much more regular basis.

Nose:  Almost Port Ellen-esque.  Slightly grassy and herbal.  A touch of lime.  Very fresh and light.  Cooking oil on wood.  Faint, faint smoke.  Sweet and dessert-like.  Some vanilla.  Pastry and a little orange and lemon.

Palate:  Slightly leathery at first.  Again…I’d probably guess Port Ellen or older Caol Ila if tasted blind.  Oak.  Oysters on the shell.  Notes of lemon.  Very bitter and strong vanilla.  A little bit of smoke now.  It grows bigger on the tongue.  Smoked apples skins.

Thoughts:  Lovely whisky but a tad disappointing nevertheless.  So many great notes.  Should have been left intact, high strength and unfiltered.  Oh well.  We can carry on about what we don’t have or lean back and acknowledge that this is still a very special malt.

 – Reviewed by:  Curt

 – Photo:  Curt

Caol Ila 30 y.o. (2014)

55.1% abv

Score:  90.5/100

This was one of my most highly anticipated releases for 2014.  To my knowledge it is the oldest distillery bottling of Caol Ila that Diageo has ever offered up.  It’s certainly the oldest official release I’ve tried so far.

I’ve been fortunate enough to taste a couple of 30 year old Caol Ila independent bottlings, but it’s debatable how true they are to the distillery’s target profile, irrespective of how great they were.  This opportunity to see what the brand itself would offer up as the apex expression of its mature malt is a privilege, especially in light of the hefty price tag associated.  Even if I ultimately wanted to scoop one up, the nearly four figure price tag was enough of a deterrent.  Enter the generosity of friends, and voila!  A few notes to share and some lasting memories of another glorious example of what mature Islay whiskies can be with enough time and care.

This bottling – a part of Diageo’s annual run of special releases – was a limited release of 7,638 bottles.  The price was high, of course, but so is the payoff.  Having tried it now, would I drop the coin for this one?  Nah.  I’ll save those kind of rare purchases for something a little more special.  That shouldn’t belittle the point, though, that was a special dram and one I’m pretty damn pleased to have as a notch on my bedpost, if you will.

Nose:  This is BIG whisky, and one I’d never peg as a Caol Ila.  Quite ‘meaty’ for lack of a better word.  Burnt wood.  Big spicy notes.  Well-seasoned leather.  Opens slowly into thick threads of smoke and caramel.  Citrus, but less than I’s expect with Caol Ila.  Lime candy.  Certainly somewhat coastal.

Palate:  Oh yeah.  Nice delivery.  Massive and oily.  More smoke now.  Peaty and earthy notes grow bigger over time.  Tangy fruits and an intensity somewhat like an underripe green apple.  Pencil shavings.  Caramelized ham.  Again some leather.  Slightly menthol.  Salty, and did I mention oily?

Thoughts:  This is a whisky tied up tight.  Hard to unravel and demanding of attention.  Complex and not really all that recognizable as Caol Ila.

* Sincere thanks to the kind, anonymous gent who shared a healthy dram of this with me.  Appreciate it.

 – Reviewed by:  Curt

 – Photo:  Curt

Caol Ila 30 y.o. (Wilson & Morgan)

57.5% abv

Score:  92/100

I’m not certain there is any distillery out there that has a greater representation among  independent bottlings than Caol Ila.  They’re simply EVERYWHERE, and to be honest…they’re more staggered in terms of profile and quality than the back catalog of Metallica.

Interestingly though, through all of these variants, there aren’t as many truly old Caol Ilas out there as you might imagine.  In fact, to date this is the oldest whisky I’ve tried from Islay’s most prolific distillery.  It was distilled in 1983, when I was about 5 years old, and bottled in 2013, when I was…decidedly older.  Ahem.  This 30 year old came from a single butt (#1096).

A mate of mine, before the cork was popped on this wizened old malt, said his initial impressions of it (from a prior sampling opportunity) were that it was quite in line with many of the older Port Ellen releases.  After having tried it now, I can sorta see the parallels, but wouldn’t necessarily make the comparison myself.  It’s more an extension of the more typical delicate Caol Ila profile, but with an added creaminess and a vastly understated (comparatively speaking) citric profile.

It’s a little pricey…and most likely tough to find…but well worth it if you can.  One of the best Caol Ilas I’ve tried.

Nose:  Sweet and creamy.  Hot cross buns.  Stretchy, chewy white taffee or nougat.  Vanilla and melted white chocolate.  Lemon.  Very faint smoke.  Some very soft syrupy fruits (pear, green grape, orange…maybe touches of peach).  Again…not so sure about those comparisons to Port Ellen.  This is much sweeter and creamier.

Palate:  Fruit cocktail.  Tangy tangerine and pineapple.  Smoke.  Black currant.  Unbaked spicy dough.  Great oily mouthfeel and big beautiful flavours.

Thoughts:  Wow…there is a great balance in this bottle.  A great cask at an ideal age.  Love the pronounced and unique fruit profile.  An old Coal Ila with a lot of life in it still.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt